After years of foot-dragging, it looks like the aviation regulators are finally getting around to sort out their own functioning, to make sure that those entrusted with flying a plane are trained to do it. The “fake pilot” issue exploded when a decidedly unorthodox landing by a pilot alerted the DGCA to review her training records, only to discover that her flying certificates were pure fiction. As several more cases of fudged resumes and fabricated certificates tumbled out, it became progressively clear that India has a serious problem with aviation personnel qualification.
The fake certificate problem stems from a structural weakness — of a sector that has expanded tremendously, year upon year, and regulation that has failed to keep up. India’s domestic aviation market has grown by many times in the last decade (it is the fourth largest domestic market, after the US, China and Japan). Being a pilot is a highly lucrative job — and from a private pilot to a commercial pilot to an Airlines Transport Pilot Licence-holder, the stakes soar. First, faced with a shortfall in the number of pilots, airlines started hiring expats. Then several homegrown flying schools started, to keep up with the demand, but their standards vary hugely. Flying a plane is highly technical work, and pilot-training involves poring over pages of aircraft systems and regulation details, hours of sim sessions and study. But profit-driven flying schools sometimes inflate student logbooks and cut down on simulator sessions. The DGCA, as their overseer, needs to keep a tighter check on these practices. The DGCA test is one of the most difficult in the world (too difficult, according to some); but the problem arises because cross-verification of credentials is not built into the system. Touts and intermediaries are another problem, as is corruption within the organisation.
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The fake certificate problem stems from a structural weakness — of a sector that has expanded tremendously, year upon year, and regulation that has failed to keep up. India’s domestic aviation market has grown by many times in the last decade (it is the fourth largest domestic market, after the US, China and Japan). Being a pilot is a highly lucrative job — and from a private pilot to a commercial pilot to an Airlines Transport Pilot Licence-holder, the stakes soar. First, faced with a shortfall in the number of pilots, airlines started hiring expats. Then several homegrown flying schools started, to keep up with the demand, but their standards vary hugely. Flying a plane is highly technical work, and pilot-training involves poring over pages of aircraft systems and regulation details, hours of sim sessions and study. But profit-driven flying schools sometimes inflate student logbooks and cut down on simulator sessions. The DGCA, as their overseer, needs to keep a tighter check on these practices. The DGCA test is one of the most difficult in the world (too difficult, according to some); but the problem arises because cross-verification of credentials is not built into the system. Touts and intermediaries are another problem, as is corruption within the organisation.
... contd.
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